The Cult of Self

Recently, a good friend introduce me to the non-profit organisation and magazine, Adbusters. The Canadian project, founded by Kalle Lasn and Bill Schalz in 1989 seeks to educate and comment, bringing together like minded individuals on topics such as anti-consumerism and pro-environment. Adbusters describe themselves as "a global network of artists, activists, writers, pranksters, students, educators and entrepreneurs who want to advance the new social activist movement of the information age."

I have read their magazine and follow their Facebook page and often find myself sparing a few minutes to read any posts that I might come across. Today's post seemed most appropriate, bringing together the collective issues that I think hinder modern societies ability to appreciate real beauty. Here is what I read:

"It is the cult of self that is killing the United States.

This cult has within it the classic traits of psychopaths: superficial charm, grandiosity and self-importance; a need for constant stimulation; a penchant for lying, deception and manipulation; and the incapacity for remorse or guilt.

This is also the ethic promoted by corporations. It is the ethic of unfettered capitalism. It is the misguided belief that personal style and personal advancement, mistaken for individualism, are the same as democratic equality. It is the nationwide celebration of image over substance, of illusion over truth. And it is why investment bankers blink in confusion when questioned about the morality of the billions in profits they made by selling worthless toxic assets to investors.

We have a right, in the cult of the self, to get whatever we desire. We can do anything, even belittle and destroy those around us, including our friends, to make money, to be happy and to become famous. Once fame and wealth are achieved, they become their own justification, their own morality. How one gets there is irrelevant." - Chris Hedges

It struck me, the comparison between psychopaths and this way of thinking and behaving that is so encouraged by the modern world. The modern world tell us that no matter what, we as an individual have the right to succeed. This much is true, and whilst I am a firm believer that only you alone can be responsible for your journey and your winnings, I often find myself disappointed by those telling me that in order to succeed financially, or in order to be beautiful and even happy, I must compete with those around me. Everyone is so fixated on the prize. A prize that is so often unobtainable, because I don't think success, beauty and happiness lie in financial stability, or fit into the stereotype of 'regulation hottie'. Someone with these assets may believe themselves to be and perhaps they are, but I'm not sure it's possible for someone's soul to sit easy if you view that happiness as a success over someone else's failure. Food for thought for my dialogue.